Man found in contempt during Casey Anthony trial asks federal judge to intervene

April 12, 2013|By Amy Pavuk, Orlando Sentinel

A man who was found in contempt during Casey Anthony's murder trial for violating a judge's orders regarding a free-speech zone outside the courthouse has asked a federal judge in Orlando to intervene in his case.

Mark Schmidter was sentenced to 141 days in the Orange County Jail for handing out jury pamphlets outside of a designated areas during the 2011 trial.

During Schmidter's short trial, he told Chief Judge Belvin Perry he didn't think either of the judge's orders applied to him or people with the Fully Informed Jury Association, whose members also distributed the pamphlets at the courthouse.

Schmidter was released from jail while he appealed the case, and an appeal court eventually affirmed in part and reversed in part the original judgment.

Perry resentenced Schmidter. On Feb. 21, Schmidter was booked into the Orange County Jail to serve his sentence.

Schmidter, who maintains he has been jailed for exercising political speech, filed an emergency motion with the Florida Supreme Court, but the court has not decided if it will take up the matter.

Defense attorney Adam Sudbury argued in documents filed Friday that Schmidter may end up serving his entire jail sentence before the Florida Supreme Court decides if it will even hear the case.